Grade 1 winner Zulu Alpha retired, withdrawn from Calumet Turf Cup
Zulu Alpha has been scratched from his intended start Saturday in the $1 million Calumet Turf Cup and has been retired from racing by owner Michael Hui, Kentucky Downs officials reported Friday.
An earner of more than $2.2 million from 37 starts, Zulu Alpha will retire to Old Friends in Georgetown, Ky.
The 8-year-old Street Cry gelding was claimed from his 19th start by Hui for $80,000 on Sept. 14, 2018, at Churchill Downs and proceeded to make the bulk of his earnings in his next 18 starts, including seven graded stakes wins, peaking with the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park in January 2020. He was trained by Mike Maker since the late fall of 2018.
“There’s not a whole lot that’s physically wrong with him,” Hui told Kentucky Downs publicity. “After consultation with Mike, he just believes he will not be competitive at this level. The right thing to do is while he’s good, he deserves the utmost in retirement.”